A/N: I have been looking forward to this chapter for a while now. I laid the seeds for this one all the way back in chapter 1, and then a little more during the New Year's arc. Everything finally came into place in this chapter with where Naruto and Hinata are in their relationship, and chronologically with how I have the story laid out.
Last month was the 2 year anniversary of the story in the last chapter. It really is hard to believe that over 2 years have now passed since I put out the first chapter. Snow Angels just hit the 800 review mark, and this chapter will put me near the 260k word mark. Thank you all for your continued readership and reviews.
Well anyways, enjoy this chapter while I get to work writing on chapter 41.
After the others have gotten their assignment scrolls from Shizune, Naruto looks over at Choji and Shikamaru. "I already have some plans for today, how about we get together right after lunch tomorrow to go over the details of our assignment. It will give us all a chance to read over everything and be prepared to discuss what we will be doing at the Sand Village."
Shikamaru offers to host the private meeting at his home and everyone quickly agrees to the plan. With that little detail out of the way Shikamaru stuffs his hands in his pockets and starts walking away with Choji quickly following suit.
Once they are out of sight Naruto gives Hinata a big smile. "Hey, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if we skipped our original plans for this morning. I kind of had something else in mind for us to do together, if that is okay with you Hinata." He reaches out his hand to her and gives her a hopeful look.
She places her hand inside of his and grips it gently. "Yes, that sounds nice. Father was still meditating when I got the summons this morning, so I sent a message to the Diplomatic Division headquarters before I came to the Hokage's office. I told them that I may not be able to come in today if I got an assignment. So, technically that means we can have the whole day to ourselves." She averts her gaze slightly and looks up with a slight smile out of the corner of her eyes. "You know, to get ready for our first diplomatic mission together." Not being the type to usually break the rules, Hinata cannot help feel a rush of excitement for breaking procedure and not immediately reporting back to headquarters with news of her assignment. Instead, slacking off just one day to enjoy spending time with her boyfriend will be more enjoyable than going over protocols again with her instructor. Besides, she'll be telling her father tonight so that is sort of the same thing… right?
They share a quick laugh together before Hinata gives Naruto's hand a little tug and looks at him curiously. "So what do you have in mind to do today?" The idea of finally having a whole day together, even though they are about to spend a few weeks together, excites Hinata to the point of almost being giddy. If anyone at the office asks later, she will just tell them that she and Naruto needed to go over the mission details, and since this is the first time he has been assigned to represent the entire village in a diplomatic capacity, she wanted to make sure that he is ready to do his part of the assignment perfectly. Not a lie exactly, but not the complete truth either.
Naruto is relieved that their mission briefing with the Hokage has not messed up his plans for the morning. Hearing how Hinata has already made the entire day free for the both of them, he decides that he will send a shadow clone to Shizune later to tell her that he won't be in later today because he is busy getting ready for his mission. He pats the pouch on his hip to make sure what he picked up on the way to the Hokage's office is still there for his surprise. "There are some people that I want you to meet." He gives her a roguish wink as he leads her into the village. "While we are walking you can tell me just how you plan on keeping me out of trouble while we are at the Sand Village."
Naruto smirks as he glances over and sees the first hint of a guilty blush appearing on Hinata's cheeks. "I can think of at least one thing we can do to keep me occupied and out of trouble while we are all alone." Naruto says the last part in a mischievous tone that gets the desired effect on his girlfriend.
Hinata can feel her heart thumping against her chest as an image of what he might be insinuating comes unbidden to her mind, or is that image just what her guilty mind hopes will occur. Either way, an intimate dinner, along with a quiet walk through a park, and ending with a goodnight kiss under the moonlight will be so romantic. "R-R-Really, and… w-w-what might that… be, Naruto-kun?" She looks down at her feet as she waits for his expected reply.
"We will be in the desert, so that would be a great place for you to practice your water affinity in a harsh environment. I'll bet that hot, dry air will really put your ability to maintain those orbs to the test." Naruto forces himself not to laugh out loud when he notices the expected results of his little joke as Hinata's grip tightens and her head slowly lifts to look him directly in the eyes. As her eyes narrow nearly into slits and her mouth pulls back in a dangerously loving smirk, it takes all of his self-control to not just kiss her right there in the middle of the street. 'Damn, I love it when she gives me that look. It's the smile that she reserves only for me, and nobody else will ever receive that dangerous smile from my tenshi.'
Hinata feels her heart flutter just a little as he just stands there watching her, a mischievous smirk decorating his face. She should be upset with him for playing a joke on her when it could have been a truly romantic moment, but this is Uzumaki Naruto she is dating. She has quickly learned that of the two basic reactions to one of his jokes, to be upset or to join the game, that playing along is the more fun option for both of them. An easy choice really because she is not sure that she could ever truly be angry with Naruto, and pranking someone after a life of having to be prim and proper is so liberating.
She straightens her posture and brings her face close enough to his that she can almost feel the warmth radiating from his smile. "If that is all you want, then I am sure that can be arranged." She turns away, pretending to be bored of his mischief, and presses her back against his chest. "I was going to suggest that you take me to one of your favorite ramen shops in the Sand Village, because I am sure that you know all the best places to get ramen in Sunagakure. Afterwards we could just stroll around the village checking out the festival, or maybe a park." She looks back and is rewarded with a happy nod from Naruto as she says, "I just thought that if you are too busy stuffing your face with ramen, then you won't be able to say something that might get you in trouble, again." Hinata gives a hopeless shrug, as if that is expecting too much.
'Nice comeback tenshi.' Naruto laughs out loud at how easily she came back with a perfect retort. A feat that Hinata would not have dared attempted just a few months ago. "I am sorry to say that you might be expecting too much of me Hinata. By now it should be obvious that I have no problem talking with my mouth full of food. Don't you remember how your father kept looking at me out of the corner of his eye that first night the four of us had dinner together?"
Hinata's bored expression breaks and she begins to giggle. "Yes, I thought that he was going to order Tinico-san to come into the room and hit you with her stick each time you spoke with food still in your mouth."
"I am pretty sure he did after dinner, because the next day Tinico decided it was time to discuss mealtime protocols." Naruto reaches up and rubs a certain spot on his shoulder. "Man, I still flinch sometimes when I hear a cracking sound similar to the one her stick makes when it hits me on the shoulder."
A little later Hinata is surprised when Naruto stops just outside the entrance to the Leaf Village Cemetery. It takes her a moment to realize that he actually intends on going inside the cemetery, and once that becomes apparent she immediately knows why he has brought her here today. Hinata looks down at her outfit feeling completely underdressed for such an important meeting and pauses for a moment to adjust her clothing to make sure that she is somewhat presentable. With it being the spring equinox she had actually been planning on coming to the cemetery later today after Naruto went to work at the Hokage Tower, but only after changing her outfit to something more formal. Maybe she should ask Naruto to let her run home real quick, and put something more presentable than her mission clothes.
Before Hinata can ask to be excused for a little while, Naruto nudges her and points towards a certain section of the cemetery. He wraps one arm around her reassuringly and leads her up to a pair of graves. "Mom, dad, I would like you to meet the girl I have been telling you about." He looks over at Hinata and gives her a gentle smile when he sees a surprised look on her face. "This is Hyuga Hinata, the eldest daughter of Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the main branch of the Hyuga clan and more importantly my girlfriend."
'He's… he's… told them about me?' Hinata cannot help but gasp at the thought that Naruto has mentioned her already to his parents. She bows deeply and holds it reverently for a moment. "Greetings Namikaze-samas, I am deeply honored to meet you today." She is at a loss for any further words at the moment. There is so much she wants to say, but she cannot seem to organize her thoughts appropriately now that she is here in front of the legendary Fourth Hokage and his wife, a former jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and most importantly… 'These are his parents, how do I say thank you well enough to convey everything that I should say to these extraordinary people. These people gave life to the man I love more than my own life, and sacrificed their chance to see him grow up so that the village could be saved.'
Seeing her standing there nervously staring at his parents gravestones Naruto decides that now would be a good time to break out the stuff he had picked up on his way to see the Hokage this morning and placed them in a scroll.
The sound of the three small bouquets of flowers being summoned out of the scroll startles Hinata and draws her attention back to him. She smiles as he hands her one of the bouquets and inhales the fragrance given off by the trio of red flowers.
"Hinata-tenshi, would you mind helping me with the flowers? I got mom some red tulips and dad yellow ones. I thought it would be kind of neat to give them each their own unique bouquet of flowers." Naruto holds up the yellow tulips with one hand while the other shifts the bouquet of purple tulips behind his back.
Hinata, remembers what Naruto had told her about meeting his mom once when he was trying to learn how to fully control Kurama's chakra, and her bright red hair. "They are beautiful Naruto, and I think that giving them flowers that match their hair color seems quite fitting." Together they lay the flowers on the gravestones before bowing their heads and saying a silent prayer.
'Mom, dad, I know that the last couple of years I have done some stuff that you would have definitely scolded me for doing, but that kind of stuff is behind me for good, believe it. Like I told you before, Hinata has done so much to help me get my life back into perspective on more than one occasion. Without her I can honestly say that I probably would not even be standing here today, and instead I might already have been buried somewhere in this cemetery too.' Naruto holds in his mind the image of each parent from the last time he saw them and merges those images so that they are standing together. He lets out a little sigh as the image of them smiling warmly at him fills his heart.
Hinata can feel the moisture of tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as she talks to the spirits of Naruto's parents. 'Namikaze-samas, I love your son so very much. So much that I really cannot convey it into thoughts or words properly, but maybe you can sense its purity and intensity in my heart. I promise you that I will do my very best to make him happy. He has become such a wonderful person, and one day he will make an amazing Hokage for the village. Thank you for gifting the world with such a wonderful person.' Hinata feels a pair of tears slide down her cheeks as Naruto slides an arm around her shoulder and draws her in close. Her head leans instinctively to the side and presses up against his shoulder.
They stand there for a little while quietly leaning against one another, lost in their own thoughts, before slowly turning around and walking away in silence. Naruto's thoughts are once again on what it might have been like to have grown up knowing them, even if his father had not been the Fourth Hokage. Just to be a normal kid who complained about what a drag it was to have his mom always bossing him around and stuff.
Hinata's thoughts are on how Naruto's parents might have reacted to their son dating a member of the Hyuga clan. Would they have tried to discourage him from having a relationship with someone from such a reserved, almost anti-social clan, or would they have happily accepted her into their lives. Her clan is highly respected, but she herself has been viewed as nothing special for most of her life. Would they have wanted Naruto, the son of the great Fourth Hokage, to be romantically involved with the weakling of the Hyuga Clan? Thankfully, she will never know that truth, partially due to their passing, but also due to the fact that her life has really turned around in recent years and she has begun the shed that weakling guise.
After they have walked a short distance Naruto nudges Hinata. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought more flowers. I thought that we might place some on..." Naruto then bites his lip a little and looks awkwardly down at his feet.
Hinata reaches up and places a hand lovingly on Naruto's cheek and turns his face to look into her own. "Who are the other flowers for Naruto-kun?" Not used to seeing Naruto act so quiet and unsure has Hinata's curiosity piqued, especially since she had assumed that the extra bouquet was going to be for the quickly growing collection of flowers Naruto has been giving her recently.
Ever since the 'night of confessions', Naruto has given her a new flower each day. He has worked out a deal with Ino who is creating a revolving flower arrangement so that as the seasons gradually change the flowers will too. The arrangement is going to be done in such a way that every new flower will still complement the older flowers right up until they begin to wilt and need to be removed. Even though she is already happy to see Naruto each day, sometimes only for a short time, the anticipation of what new flower is going to be added to the arrangement has added a new level of excitement to each day. It will be sad to be away from the village for so long and not receive a new flower for her arrangement. That and coming home to see all of the flowers she has recently gotten from Naruto dried up and losing their petals.
"I picked up some flowers for your mom too." Naruto gives Hinata a nervous smile. "I never forgot about that night, or the kindness in your mother's eyes. Until you told me, I never knew that the woman who gave me my first real present was your mother, or that my first friend would someday end up being my girlfriend." The two of them share a hug as a surge of emotions are threatening to steal both of their voices. They just stand there in each other's arms, lost in thought, until Naruto is finally able to break the silence. "I just… want to finally tell her thank you, that's all."
All Hinata can do is just nod her forehead against his jacket and sniff. She takes Naruto by the hand, unable to look him in the eyes for fear of finally losing control of her emotions, and leads him to a quiet part of the cemetery. The members of the main branch of the Hyuga clan are laid to rest in the part of the cemetery that receives the first rays of the morning sunlight each day.
There amongst the other markers, already decorated with red roses, is Hinata's mother's gravestone. "I see that otou-sama has already been here this morning." Hinata looks over happily at Naruto. "He comes, especially this time of the year, to visit okaa-sama early in the morning and watches the sunrise. When I was younger he would bring me and Hanabi-chan with him sometimes; and other times, on special occasions, he would come alone." Hinata feels a warmth spread through her heart as she thinks about the obvious depth of her father's love, to honor his wife with such devotion even after all these years. Her thoughts stray to the young man standing beside her and thinks about how she would do the same thing if anything were to ever happen to the one she loves.
Hinata looks up into the clear blue sky wistfully. "You see, it was on this very day that my parents first met. Okaa-sama loved watching the sunrise, she and otou-sama would rise out of bed each morning before the sun would come up. They would sit together quietly watching the first rays of the sun signaling the dawn of a new day. On those days that the weather would obscure the sun she would make tea, and they would spend that time just talking with each other."
Naruto raises his eyebrow in a questioning arc as he looks over at Hinata. "That sounds nice, maybe we should start a tradition like that of our own." The idea of seeing Hinata each morning as the first rays of the new day's sunlight adds its warmth to her smile makes him long to start their tradition immediately. 'The upcoming mission will be the perfect time to start a tradition of our own.' It will take something of this level of importance to make him willing and able to get out of bed so early each morning, but totally worth the loss of a little sleep to see her smiling like that. The big issue might be Hinata's clan, particularly her father, by becoming an even more frequent guest of the Hyuga clan. If only he and Hinata could just wake up and enjoy the sunrise together without having to deal with him going to the gate every morning and asking for permission to enter.
"I would like that very much, Naruto-kun. That will give us something to talk about while we make our way to Sunagakure." She takes the flowers from Naruto's hands and gives him a warm hug. 'Every time he talks about us in a future sense I just want to shout out with joy. I know, deep down, that he is beginning to see a real future for us together. Saying marriage was no slip of the tongue, no matter what Kurenai-sensei told me just so that I would not get my hopes up.' Hinata knows that Naruto only says what is in his heart, sometimes it just takes his mind a little while to catch up with what his heart already knows.
Hinata turns, kneels down and places the purple tulips that Naruto brought onto her mother's gravestone beside the roses her father has already left upon the marker. Once she stands up, Hinata bows and then gestures towards Naruto. "Okaa-sama, this is my boyfriend, Uzumaki Naruto. He is the young boy on the playground that you gave the gift to on that Winter Solstice Day so many years ago."
Naruto bows deeply and takes a deep breath to collect his thoughts as he steps up in front of the gravestone. "Hyuga-sama, it is an honor to finally meet you again. I have wanted to tell you for so many years that the memory of the gift you gave me that night, and the time I spent on the playground with Hinata, has been a bright shining memory most of my life. Whenever the holidays would come and I would feel lonely, I had the memory of that night to make me smile. To know that there are people out there that really do care was the spark that kept the flame of hope in my heart for so many years. Thank you so very much." He bows again, even more deeply. 'If you were anything like Hinata is now, then I can completely understand why Hiashi seems to still cares so deeply about you, even after all these years.'
Hinata bows as well in reverence, but also to hide the sad smile on her face at hearing how their actions that night had been so important to Naruto all these years. The Hyuga's are an influential family and could have done more, but instead had done like everyone else and treated an innocent child like he was responsible for the actions of the kyubi inside his small body. At least things have finally turned around for him and her childhood dream has finally started to become a reality. 'See okaa-sama, I told you what would happen one day. I only wish you were here with me, to see that my childhood prediction has finally come true.'
FLASHBACK
A very young Hinata skips along beside her mother humming happily as they make their way home for tonight's celebration. Her mother looks down at her with that special smile that makes Hinata's heart feel all warm and fuzzy. "Did you have fun at the playground today Hinata-chan? You must have, I don't think your feet have barely touched the ground since we left." The two of them share a giggle as Hinata tries to skip even higher.
Hinata looks up at her mother with eyes literally sparkling. "Yes okaa-sama, I had the most wonderful time today. I cannot wait to go back there again." She starts to try and think of an excuse for her to go outside the family compound and make her way back to the playground in hopes of seeing that young boy again.
"Oh really, so you had fun playing with that little boy?" Hitomi looks down at her daughter in amusement.
Hinata stops and places her small hands over her heart as she looks down at her feet. "Yes okaa-sama, he was so nice. He said that I had a very nice smile." She scuffs her feet a little guiltily. "I didn't let him look at my eyes though. I wanted to after he said that my smile was nice, but I just couldn't. Every time I would try to look him in the eyes my face started feeling all warm, and my tummy got all squishy." She looks up at her mother innocently as she rubs her small stomach. "Is it bad that he makes my tummy feel all squishy?" With all her heart she hopes that how he makes her tummy feel is okay, and is not a sign of something bad.
Hitomi kneels down to look her daughter directly in the eyes. "That is not a bad thing at all, Hinata-chan." Her face turns a little pink as she brushes her daughter's hair away from her eyes. "Your daddy makes my tummy feel all squishy sometimes too, and I like the way he makes my tummy feel when we look at each other."
"Really?" Hinata's eyes begin to sparkle again as she looks up at her mother with the biggest smile she can muster. "That makes me so happy, because that boy is going to be my boyfriend one day. It would be bad if my tummy felt like that all the time, but sometimes is okay I guess."
Hitomi covers her mouth to stop herself from giggling. "So, does he know that he is going to be your boyfriend?"
Hinata nervously starts touching her index fingers together. "Well no, I was too afraid to say anything. What if once he gets to know me that he won't like me anymore?" She lowers her head sadly. "M-M-Maybe he will think my eyes are weird like the other kids, and wouldn't want me to be his girlfriend?"
Hitomi takes her daughters hand and they begin walking again towards their home. "I think just the opposite will be true. Once he gets to know the real you, Hinata-chan, I think that you two will become very good friends." Hitomi gives her daughter's hand a reassuring squeeze as she looks up with a smile.
"He reminds me of a friend I had when I was in school, and she helped me when some boys were making fun of my eyes." When Hinata looks up in surprise Hitomi gives her a little nod. "Yes, I too was bullied some when I was your age, and she came over and made the bullies go away. You see they had tried to make fun of her red hair, which I thought was very beautiful, and those boys learned very quickly that it was not nice to make fun of people after she beat them up. We became best friends after that day, and we stayed friends even after we graduated from the ninja academy. She one day met a boy who liked her hair very much and they fell in love."
Hitomi leans down and brushes a few more errant strands of hair from her daughter's eyes and over her left ear. "I bet when he sees your eyes that he will think they are pretty and that they make you special. Just like his own eyes and hair make him stand out in a crowd."
Hinata wraps her tiny arms tightly around her mother, thankful that she has such a wonderful mother who knows just what to say to make her happy. As they near the main gate of the Hyuga compound Hinata looks up at her mother. "So you noticed his hair too, okaa-sama?"
Hitomi nods and gives her daughter a smile that seems to hint that she already knows what her daughter is about to say.
Hinata reaches up and runs her fingers through her short, dark hair. "It is so yellow and spiky." She covers her mouth to stifle a sudden fit of giggling. "It kind of reminds me of a sunflower, and I think they are the prettiest flowers ever." As they make their way through the main gate a very young Hinata tells her mother about how she would like to plant a garden full sunflowers next year. She wants the small ones and the great big giant ones especially.
END FLASHBACK
Hinata opens her eyes suddenly as she fully recollects that nearly forgotten memory. 'Our mothers were friends.' She had forgotten that mother had told her about the red haired girl she had been friends with in school. Their mothers were pregnant with her and Naruto at the same time. It makes her wonder if their mothers had hung out together and talked with each other while she and Naruto were in their mother's wombs.' The thought of the two of them being connected since before they were born sends a chill through Hinata's body. 'This will make for an interesting chat while we are walking to the Sand Village together. I'll have to ask around to some of my mother's old attendants tomorrow, and see if they remember whether or not our mothers spent time together during their pregnancies.'
The remembrance of those special times with her mother makes Hinata wonder again about what it would have been like if her mother was still alive. Would her mother's gentle guidance have given her the strength to grow up a more confident person? With her mother's encouragement would she have had the confidence to tell Naruto how she felt without having to wait till it was almost too late? Does all this 'what if' thinking really matter now? She and Naruto are together and they can finally start makes plans for a future… together.
Hinata looks over at Naruto and touches his hand. "Speaking of making plans, you are cordially invited to come to my home tonight for dinner."
Naruto leans in and kisses her lightly on the lips. "Mmmmm, dinner at your place sounds great." He gives her lips another kiss and brushes his fingertips up her arm. "Is this going to be a private dinner for two so that we can go over our mission requirements… in detail?" The slight deepening of his voice leaves no doubt that 'in detail' might involve more than just reading over their mission scrolls.
Hinata's eyelids flicker a little at the sensation of his fingertips brushing up her arms, and the chills they leave behind. "I-I-I actually hadn't thought about that, but going over our assignments together is a really good idea." She starts drawing innocently on his chest and smiles up at him shyly. "Honestly, I was hoping that you would come to tonight's family dinner so that WE could tell otou-sama that you and I will be going to the Sand Village… you know… together." Her eyes are filled with a nervous innocence that at any other time might have caused Naruto's blood pressure to drop as his vital fluids rush to his extremities, but the sound of her voice as she nervously mentions her father holds that in check.
Naruto's eyes go wide as the realization of telling Hinata's father about the upcoming mission, and that Hinata would be coming along as part of the team, might come as a shock to the Hyuga leader. "Oh crap." He calms his nerves by reminding himself that he and Hinata have been on missions before, most of them with very little success, but together none the less. 'So it should not be too big of deal that she and I are going on a mission together, even if we are dating, right?' Naruto hopes that Hiashi won't think about the time he caught his daughter kissing Naruto when they were supposed to be practicing and give them some big lecture. 'If only there was some way to keep the old man distracted and drop this news subtlety so that it will seem like it is no big deal.'
Suddenly an idea flashes through Naruto's mind. "Wait, I have an idea." He grabs Hinata's hand and leads her out of the cemetery. "Come with me and I'll explain on the way. I think that I have thought of the perfect plan to tell your father about our mission." As they head out of the cemetery Naruto begins to mentally put his plan together to make sure that he does not miss any important details.
Hinata tries to not dwell on Naruto's previous history of when he has announced a 'great plan', only to have them all end poorly. Like many times before she contemplates stopping him and suggesting that maybe she should make the plan, especially since it is her father this time. As usual though, she takes one look at Naruto's face and the intent look of determination clearly etched there, and decides that she will at least give his plan a chance. 'He has become so much more mature these last few years, so I should at least give him a chance. Besides, what could possibly go wrong with something so simple?'